


Tea

by soldiermom1973



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Coffee, Drabble, F/M, MEFF perfect 100, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 16:27:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14000055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldiermom1973/pseuds/soldiermom1973
Summary: A couple of drabbles for the MEFF Perfect 100 drabble challenge.





	Tea

**Author's Note:**

> Of my 3 Shepards, only two of them drink tea & they're female, so the stories allude to that. John is a heavy coffee drinker, so if there's a prompt about that, he'll be included in those.
> 
> Also, my word count is always different from what AO3 counts. I have no idea why, either, so what you see here might not be 100 words each, but they were when I wrote them.

Kaidan always preferred coffee. His conviction that it helped his headaches was in part psychosomatic because tea could have more caffeine than coffee. His tastes started changing, though, when she encouraged him to try this flavor or that blend. Before he knew it, he was drinking more tea than coffee. It was something innocent they could share together and became something he looked forward to, something that didn't violate the regs. Now it was something for him to miss, something else that made his heart ache when he bypassed the tea selections and grabbed a random brick of coffee instead.

\- - - - - - - - -

Thane knew she hadn't meant to offend him. It was a purely innocent observation and the instant he snapped at her, he regretted it. He felt even more guilty when she stammered an apology and hurried from life support. Now he stood at her door, a mug of tea in each hand, and waited for her to answer, hoping this small gesture would help them both feel better. When she answered, he could see she had been crying. “I am sorry,” he offered quietly, handing her one of the mugs and thankful she accepted it. “Perhaps we could start over?”

\- - - - - - - - -

“How can you drink that stuff?” Kaidan asked, not trying to hide the disgust on his face. “It's hot leaf juice.”

“And that's different from your bean piss how?” Josie grinned. “Have you even tried it?”

“Once. A long time ago,” he sniffed, drinking from his own mug. “It was gross then and it's probably gross now.”

“You know your taste buds die and get replaced, right?” Josie countered. “That's why your tastes in food change as you get older.”

“I'll pass.”

“Well, at least I know what to bet at the poker game tonight,” she winked.

\- - - - - - - - - - -

The ritual was soothing, especially after a mission went south. Heat the water, measure the loose-leaf, let it steep and try not to beat yourself up while you wait, add the honey (or sugar, it depended on the tea), take a deep breath, sip. The tea itself was also relaxing – the steam wafting from the mug to her nose, the calming scent of vanilla and chai filling her olfactory senses. Sometimes she wished there was someone else on the crew who enjoyed tea as much as she did but at times like this, she was thankful for the solitude.


End file.
